The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved the New York State Farm Service Agency’s (NYS FSA) request for a federal Agricultural Disaster Designation following this past May’s deep freeze that destroyed thousands of acres of crops for 31 counties across Upstate New York. Upstate New York suffered major crop damage from the extreme cold weather this past May, destroying grapes, apples, strawberries, blueberries, and other crops vital to the upstate New York economy.